Bishop Eric Menees
As we continue our examination of
the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, we come to the gift of Administration. In
my opinion, this is one of the most needed and least valued of the Spiritual
Gifts. Yes, St. Paul was clear to speak to this gift as he lists the
spiritual gifts: “And God has appointed in the church first apostles,
second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping,
administrating, and various kinds of
tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:28)
The gift of administration is given
to certain Christians in order to organize and implement plans for leading
others in ministry. The gift of administration is closely associated with
leadership. St. Paul tasks his apprentice Titus with organizing the
church in Crete: “To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you
in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in
every town as I directed you….” (Titus 1:4-5) Without the gift of
administration, the church in Crete might not have raised up new priests and
bishops, nor flourished as she did.
The gift of Administration is the
gift of the Holy Spirit that binds the other gifts in the church together for
their effective employment in Kingdom ministry. Those with the gift of
administration love to see people in the church raised up and trained for
ministry. They organize training schedules to equip people for ministry
and then schedule them to serve. Without the gift of administration, we see
people squander their gifts, and churches flounder with the small handful of
people who are best at asserting their gifts leading everything.
In my ministry, I have been blessed
to have people with the gift of Administration who have helped me immeasurably.
When planting a new congregation, I would argue that having someone with
the gift of administration is most vital. I think of Miss Lou in San
Diego. She is a woman who loves order and putting things in order.
She would make sure that the bulletins were done; the ministers trained
and scheduled; the fellowship food prepared and displayed in an appealing
manner. However, it wasn’t until Miss Lou began to share this gift with
others, rather than do it herself, that things began to blossom. It is difficult
for people with this gift to give over to others, but when they can things
really begin to hum. When Miss Lou trained others to do the bulletin,
take over schedules, and organize the coffee hour, then the Spirit moved to
empower others, and that is where the gift of administration really becomes
useful in a church. This was Titus’ secret – he put the Church in Crete
in order and then released others for ministry to do the same.
Pray that God the Holy Spirit grant
the gift of administration to many in our congregations, that they may grow and
flourish.
I pray you all a blessed week!
Catechism Questions 156 - 158
156. What is the
prayer our Lord taught his disciples to pray?
The traditional version of the
Lord’s Prayer is:
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
157. Why should
you pray the Lord’s Prayer?
I should pray the Lord’s Prayer
because Christ in the gospels teaches it to his disciples, as both a practice
and a pattern for fellowship with God the Father. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4)
158. How is the
Lord’s Prayer a practice for all prayer?
When I pray the Lord’s Prayer,
Jesus is training me to pray according to his Father’s will; so I should employ
the prayer constantly. (1 John 5:14-15; Luke 11:2)
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